Time For The EU To Call King Mswati's Bluff
by Frank La Rue Jun 08,
2015
Criticism of the royal
family is forbidden. Labor and human rights groups cannot legally register.
Political parties are banned and pro-democracy activists are charged as
terrorists. Judges serve at the whim of King Mswati, resulting in a farcical
judiciary that has never fully upheld a basic human right in its history, writes Frank LaRue, Director of Robert
F. Kennedy Human Rights Europe.
Recently, Labour
Members of the European Parliament voiced concern over the human
rights situation in Swaziland. Describing the current climate as
“deteriorating” and “deplorable,” the MEPs urged the European Union to
reconsider its preferential trade agreement with
the Swazi government, arguing that its disregard for human rights
should serve as a “wakeup call” to policymakers in the region.
That disregard is
profound. Swaziland may not garner international headlines, but its
record on human
rights is deplorable. Behind a façade of seemingly orderly elections and a
constitution that guarantees freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, the
continent’s last absolute monarch, King Mswati III, holds all the power— power
that he has wielded with callous impunity.
Criticism of the royal
family is forbidden. Labor and human rights groups cannot legally register.
Political parties are banned and pro-democracy
activists are charged as terrorists. Judges serve at the whim of King
Mswati, resulting in a farcical
judiciary that has never fully upheld a basic human right in its history.
The corrupt workings
of Swaziland’s courts were on full display last year during the trial of
lawyer Thulani
Maseko and editor Bheki
Makhubu, who dared to publish
an article criticizing the nation’s failure to establish an independent
judiciary. After legal proceedings that in no way offered the defendants
due process, Maseko and Makhubu were jailed for their criticisms; as of today,
both men have spent more than a year in prison. Maseko has spent a portion of
that time in solitary
confinement.
A delegation that
included Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights traveled to Swaziland last
year to observe a bail hearing for Maseko and Makhubu. This hearing, too, was
highly irregular, and our representatives registered serious concerns about the
clear lack of independence and impartiality of the proceedings.
Despite the international
outcry that met the persecution of both Maseko and Makhubu, King Mswati only
accelerated his crackdown on civil society. Several weeks ago, authorities
violently dispersed
a Trade Union Congress of Swaziland meeting, and later broke
up a gathering of the Swaziland National Association of Teachers.
During both attacks, heavily armed riot police were reported to have beaten
union members, forcing several to seek medical treatment thereafter. A widely
respected union activist was quoted afterward as saying, “The police came in as
if they were coming to fight an army.”
Swaziland suffers from the world's
highest rate of HIV-infected adults; thirty percent of Swazis are
medically diagnosed as malnourished; and sixty
percent of Swazis live below the national poverty line. In the midst of
this crisis, King Mswati continues to live a lavish
life that all but mocks his subjects. Just recently, he bought
a $30 million private jet, his second, after his first was impounded by
Canada.
Documents recently made public seem to suggest the plane was purchased with money intended for public use.
Documents recently made public seem to suggest the plane was purchased with money intended for public use.
The situation in Swaziland is dire, and
such brazen disregard for human rights cannot go unpunished. The MEP’s proposal
to attach human rights conditions to preferential trade arrangements, including
in Swaziland, would help demonstrate to King Mswati that he will be held
accountable for his actions.
There is a strong basis
for the EU to do so. For example, Article 8 of the Cotonou
Agreement -- a development pact between the EU and the African,
Caribbean and Pacific Group of states -- requires that member nations
demonstrate clear progress towards respect for human rights and good
governance. EU policymakers could show international leadership by
considering this and other similar benchmarks to revoke Swaziland’s
preferential status if it continually fails to meet universally accepted
standards. Of course, any potential trade sanction should be carefully crafted
so as to ensure Swaziland’s most vulnerable citizens are not negatively
affected.
Just as important, the
case of Swaziland offers an opportunity to demonstrate the EU’s
long-established commitment to upholding international human rights norms. To
date, the Swazi government has repeatedly called the international
community’s bluff. King Mswati continues to make, and then break, promises to
reform. He has faced zero consequences for doing so. By
revoking Swaziland’s preferential trade status, the European Union would
send a strong and unequivocal message that his days of acting with impunity are
over.
Frank LaRue is the Director of Robert F.
Kennedy Human Rights Europe and was UN Special Rapporteur on the Promotion and
Protection of the Right to Freedom of Opinion and Expression from 2008-2014
See also
FREE
POLITICAL PRISONERS: EURO MPs
EURO
MPs: SCRAP TRADE DEALS
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